Activity of antibiotics against Fusarium and Aspergillus.
OBJECTIVE
To study the susceptibility of Fusarium and Aspergillus isolated from keratitis to amoxicillin, cefazolin, chloramphenicol, moxifloxacin, tobramycin and benzalkonium chloride (BAK).


METHODS
10 isolates of Fusarium and 10 isolates of Aspergillus from cases of fungal keratitis at Aravind Eye Hospital in South India were tested using microbroth dilution for susceptibility to amoxicillin, cefazolin, chloramphenicol, moxifloxacin, tobramycin and BAK. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) median and 90th percentile were determined.


RESULTS
BAK had the lowest MIC for both Fusarium and Aspergillus. Chloramphenicol had activity against both Fusarium and Aspergillus, while moxifloxacin and tobramycin had activity against Fusarium but not Aspergillus.


CONCLUSIONS
The susceptibility of Fusarium to tobramycin, moxifloxacin, chloramphenicol and BAK and of Aspergillus to chloramphenicol and BAK may explain anecdotal reports of fungal ulcers that improved with antibiotic treatment alone. While some of the MICs of antibiotics and BAK are lower than the typically prescribed concentrations, they are not in the range of antifungal agents such as voriconazole, natamycin and amphotericin B. Antibiotics may, however, have a modest effect on Fusarium and Aspergillus when used as initial treatment prior to identification of the pathological organism.
Day
S
S
Department of Ophthalmology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
Lalitha
P
P
Haug
S
S
Fothergill
A W
AW
Cevallos
V
V
Vijayakumar
R
R
Prajna
N V
NV
Acharya
N R
NR
McLeod
S D
SD
Lietman
T M
TM
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000382:microbiology; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000187:drug effects*; D003320:Corneal Ulcer / Q000382:microbiology; D025141:Drug Resistance, Fungal / Q000187:drug effects; D015821:Eye Infections, Fungal / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005670:Fusarium / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009181:Mycoses / Q000382:microbiology; D011446:Prospective Studies
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents